Mike Haynes: Testimonies have me watery-eyed

Posted: Saturday, April 18, 2009

Mike HaynesColumn

My brother-in-law sent one of those Facebook questionnaires last month that people fill out for fun. You know, the quizzes with questions such as "What do you put on your toast?" ("Mom's plum jelly") and "Have you held hands with anyone today?" ("Yes, Kathy.")

On "When did you last cry?" my answer was "Can't remember." I'm not insensitive; most of my family just has that stiff upper lip. Even when something really bad happens, I don't always cry.

If I had read that question after Easter Sunday, the answer would have been different.

Our church did a sequel to the "cardboard testimonies" that Pastor Tommy Politz instigated last year. The testimonies consisted of members and staffers of the church stepping onto the stage one after the other, each holding a piece of cardboard with "before" and "after" messages on the two sides.

For example, one young woman displayed her sign to the congregation: "Was addicted to meth." She turned the cardboard around, and it said, "Now addicted to Him."

The video of that 2008 church service wound up on YouTube, where it has become something of a miracle itself. As of Sunday night the video had been viewed 1,934,062 times, and scores of other churches have taken the idea to do their own cardboard testimonies.

Politz ended his Easter sermon this year with a reprise of the heart-tugging cardboard messages. Another 40 or so church regulars stepped quietly across the stage, stopping to show their own stories on cardboard as music played.

This time the pastor provided more details about a few of the church members. A tall young man's sign indicated he has undergone four operations, radiation and chemotherapy for brain cancer but puts total trust in God for the outcome. Politz had visited him in Dallas after one of the surgeries.

A man and a woman stopped onstage together, showing their messages about meth and current freedom from drugs. Politz said the two had watched the original cardboard testimonies on YouTube while at a meth party. The video turned their lives around.

About halfway through the new live presentation, my eyes were watery. Then a couple of drops rolled down my right cheek. It had something to do with the all those local people who had faced such hardships but turned to Jesus Christ. It had something to do with the courage it took for them to stand in front of 2,000 people with their cardboard signs.

After church I asked my wife if tears flowing down your face counts as "crying." "Uh, yeah, I'd say so!" she replied.

I suspect Cardboard Testimonies II will be online soon and will extend the good news that the sign-holders want everyone to know: "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:17)

Mike Haynes teaches journalism at Amarillo College. He can be reached at AC, the Amarillo Globe-News or haynescolumn@hotmail.com. Go to www.haynescolumn.blogspot.com for other recent columns.